The present invention relates to a fishing reel of which side plates can be attached to and detached from frames of a reel body with higher efficiency.
Conventionally, a side plate that holds a sound-producing mechanism, braking mechanism, bearing for supporting a spool shaft, etc. is attached to one side portion of a frame that constitutes the body of a fishing reel.
The side plate may be attached to the one side portion of the frame by means of a screw, for example. Alternatively, it may be screwed on the one side portion of the frame with the aid of a ring, as described in Jpn. UM Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 55-30144 or Jpn. UM Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 56-66263, for example.
According to the mounting method described in Jpn. UM Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 55-30144 or Jpn. UM Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 56-66263, a thread-engagement portion that can engage the outer periphery of the frame is formed on one side portion of the inner peripheral surface of the ring, and a stopper portion that can retain the side plate is formed on the other side portion of the inner peripheral surface. The side plate can be attached to the frame by screwing the one side portion of the ring on the frame.
However, the mounting method described in Jpn. UM Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 55-30144 or Jpn. UM Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 56-66263 has the following first problem. If the ring is loosened and removed from the frame, the side plate is disengaged from the ring at the same time. In some cases, therefore, the ring may slip off the side plate and be lost. According to this mounting method, moreover, the ring and the side plate must be separately attached to or detached from the frame, thus requiring troublesome operation and resulting in lowering of the efficiency of attachment or detachment operation.
In general, a fishing reel comprises a spool wound with a fishing line, a reel body supporting the spool for rotation, and a take-up drive section for rotating the spool. The reel body includes left- and right-hand frames that support the spool and side plates attached individually to the respective lateral portions of the frames.
The take-up drive section is supported by means of a supporting side plate which is attached firmly to its corresponding frame by means of screws lest it hinder winding operation.
A driving force transmission mechanism, level-wind mechanism, drive mechanism, etc. are arranged side by side in a space between the supporting side plate and the frame. The transmission mechanism serves to transmit a driving force from the take-up drive section to the spool. The level-wind mechanism uniformly winds the fishing line on the spool. The drive mechanism is used to drive the level-wind mechanism. Thus, the supporting side plate stores these mechanisms and covers their outer peripheries. The arrangement of the fishing reel of this type is described in Jpn. UM Appln. KOKOKU Publications Nos. 60-8693 and 6-20338, for example, and is generally known.
However, this arrangement of the fishing reel involves the following second problem. The supporting side plate that is fixedly attached to the frame must store the various drive mechanisms that are arranged between itself and the frame and cover their outer peripheries. Therefore, the outside diameter of the supporting side plate should inevitably be increased in proportion to the diametrical dimensions of the drive mechanisms as a whole. Thus, the reel is subject to drawbacks in grip performance and portability.